More leaking than sleeping

2 Min Read

G'day, Dave* here.

I'm writing this the morning after somewhat of a milestone. My wife Lyn and I are celebrating after finally having a good night's sleep. We're both feeling better rested and happy, which we couldn't have said two months ago. Lyn remarked just last week how quickly you forget what a good night's rest is like when you haven't had one for a while.

Our interrupted sleep wasn't due to neighbourhood dogs barking or the summer heat or even my snoring this time! It was my frequent trips to the loo all throughout the night. A lot of blokes my age tend to cop this kind of stuff on the chin and tell themselves it's part of getting old. If I'm being honest, it's exactly how I felt too. I'd wake up with a real urge to go, launch out of bed (much to Lyn's shock) and rush to the toilet only to get a trickle. And with this going on up to eight times a night, you can see how there wasn't much sleep going on.

Now, while I was willing to write off my nocturnal activity as one of the joys of ageing, it really got to me that it was interrupting Lyn's sleep. All this up and down was stopping her from getting the shut-eye she needed, so I decided to see my GP.

I wasn't entirely convinced anyone could fix me. Nevertheless, off to the doctor I went. After a few tests, my GP diagnosed me with something called Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia or BPH - sounds serious, right? Well, the short answer is that it's not. BPH is a benign enlargement of the prostate that is common in men over the age of 50. The doctor said I had moderate BPH but with treatment my symptoms have improved.

If any of this rings a bell for you and a good night's sleep has been feeling like a thing of the past, it's worth having a chat to your doctor. You too could soon be celebrating quality rest - might have to get back to me on the snoring though.

*This is a fictitious patient based on real patient accounts of their experience with BPH